Chapter Text
Batman and Nightwing have been acting very strange.
They have been the same as ever for the most part, but they’re keeping something from him. Tim thinks there must be something they found out or such a thing, some piece of information that they aren’t sure how to tell him or if they should tell him or not.
Kon gets to him first though, pulling him away for a ‘conversation’.
“I just wanted to feel this out,” Kon explains, uncharacteristically awkward. “I wanted to make sure you’re good, ‘cus Batman’s getting restless.”
”This is about whatever they’ve been hiding.” It is not a question.
Kon sighs, “they’re gonna think I told you that. I’m gonna say you figured it out yourself and they won’t believe me.” He shakes himself slightly to get back on topic. “Tim, we’re not going to keep you trapped here forever, and we… think we’ve found a solution.”
Tim freezes, “Right. Okay. You found a foster family, or something?”
Kon’s eyes widen almost comically, “No, Tim, you’re not being kicked out, you’d still… you would not be separated from the hero community. We’re your friends, your family, and you’re certainly not ditching me so easily. I just— god, this feels self-centered,” Kon cuts off to mutter to himself. “I want to make sure you’ll be okay without… me? I just mean that you’ve been around me a lot and I know it’s going to be an adjustment for me because I’m going to be so anxious not being able to just look to the side and see you all the time, so—“ he takes the most aggressive breath Tim has ever witnessed. “I want to make sure you’ll be okay if I’m not around all the time? I’ll show up all the time, I promise, but we just… won’t be living in the same place.”
Tim takes a steadying breath of his own to try and decide how he feels. The way Kon described it is odd, so Tim tries to avoid coming to any unreasonable or incorrect conclusions. And, well, Tim believes Kon. He speaks with a heartbreaking amount of conviction, and Tim knows him. He knows Bart, and Cassie, and Gar and Jaime. He knows the sort of people they are, and that is mainly fiercely loyal. So for now he chooses to be calm. “You’ve barely been back at the farm since I got here, I’m sure Ma and Pa Kent despise me.”
”Despise you?” Kon laughs in pure incredulity. “Ma’s been on Clark and Bruce’s cases about Smallville being your next approved field trip. She’s this close to calling Lois and Alfred to get what she wants.” Tim smiles as he listens to the reassurance. Visiting the Kent farm sounds nice, and he is definitely circling back to that with Kon. He hasn’t gotten to meet Jon yet, either, which according to Damian is not something the young Super is very happy with. Not to mention the fact that he would love to meet Lois Lane.
“But I can’t stay in Mount Justice?”
Kon shakes his head sadly, “This isn’t a place to grow up or to live, Tim. You’re alone and isolated, you deserve a household with— actually, just, a household. A home.” People keep bringing up the idea of a ‘home’ and Tim isn’t quite sure why. Sure, a lot of people have great homes, but Tim has had a home before. It wasn’t anything special. He isn’t sure why everyone cares so much about him having a ‘home’. ”Look, Batman and Nightwing are going to talk to you about this, okay? Really, they’re supposed to be the first ones to talk to you about it, maybe because they’re a bit more put together but I— I just wanted you to have the opportunity, you could, like, tell me no. Tell me you don’t want to, that you’d feel safer around me…”
Kon isn’t supposed to know that. Tim did not want him to know how much he relaxed when Kon was around, how he slept easier when Kon crashed in his room and always felt tense when Kon was out on a mission, and not just out of concern for the young hero. But Kon is tanking the crease in his brows and the fumbling in his words. Tim can tell he is a little embarrassed to come up and say ‘tell me if you’re scared to live without me’, so Tim can be brave too. “But you’ll still come?”
”Whenever you call,” Kon swears. And looking up at him, leather clad, curly haired, cocky grin and sharp jawline and all, Tim really, truly believes him.
~~~
The warning from Kon does give Tim some anxiety, but it also saves him from more worries. He knows why Bruce and Dick are being so jumpy, because they are worried about him being comfortable with whatever living situation they planned for him, and they don’t want to bring it up at the wrong moment.
Tim thinks about moving, because he has never actually moved out of a place. He had never planned to leave his first home and he had never planned to leave Cadmus. Now he has his clothes, and several plushies, and his camera and tech equipment, and his skateboard, and his various notes and projects. He has stuff here, so he’ll actually have to move.
He worries about where he’ll end up though, obviously. He has become comfortable here, this place is safe and this is his room. Tim has come to admit that he is traumatized, and he doesn’t know how well he’ll adjust to this new place and presumably new people. Will he just feel alone again? What sort of foster family could understand the things that Tim has gone through, or the things he might do. Tim curls into himself, he reverts to solitude and self-isolation, and he often needs someone to reach out to him when he pushes them out. He knows he’s a delicate case, even if he hates it.
And Tim doesn’t want to play pretend, he doesn’t want a charade of a normal life. He is a scientist or even a doctor for superheroes, he is a vigilante himself. This is his life, and Tim can’t just shove it into some corner, a couple of days a week or something. It’s been too long, this is his life now. Like it or not, he can’t go back. He’s in far too deep for suburbia or some such thing.
There’s a lot of ways this could go really wrong for him, and Tim is trying hard not to think about it. He remembers, when he sits with Wolf, playing or petting, he remembers that Wolf won’t be with him anymore. Kon tells him that Wolf’s life has been a more extreme version of Kon’s own: he had been at the Cave because Kon was, while he is usually at the farm, but has been living here with Tim since.
“I wanna visit the Farm,” Tim informs Kon firmly. “Wolf will miss me.”
Kon does not match his seriousness, but still replies, “Of course, but you should know he’s also around here a lot. But, yeah, he’s a little baby about separation anxiety, he’s clingy with people who spoil him. And Ma’s super excited to meet you, so it’s out of our hands, really.” He startles a laugh out of Tim with how steady he is with the last sentence.
Kon is still there when Bruce asks Tim to come over to Gotham. Specifically, to come to the manor in civvies to have an important conversation and to meet someone. Tim takes a deep steadying breath, casting one last glance at Kon and receiving a reassuring look and a sharp nod in return, and follows Bruce into the zeta.
The car ride to the manor is short, probably not as convoluted as the routes to the BatCave, and they drive through Bristol and then up the long drive way as they arrive at Wayne Manor.
Tim supposes he is ready. He has faced down some of the worst villains in the world, he has saved lives and risked his life for the greater good. He is ready to face whatever family Bruce has chosen as appropriate for Tim.
He hopes he gets to see the Wayne’s a lot though, because he loves training under Dick, and learning from Bruce, and he has grown fond of Damian. And he needs to see Kon a lot, and get to Mount Justice a lot, but Bart has super speed and Cassie and Kon can fly. He’s sure he can work out a lot of things. He is pretty sure he has convinced Bruce to let him be a proper hero.
Bruce stops the car right in front of the three short steps leading to the front door, and walks up them together. He doesn’t even have time to knock a second time when the door sweeps open. A tall, proper looking gentleman wearing a suit, with a mustache that twirls up at the end, stands in the doorway. Bruce looks over to smile, brighter than is usual for him, and says, “Tim, you’ve met Alfred. Officially, the butler and general caretaker of the manor and the Waynes. But I’m sure you’re aware, he raised me and helped raise all of my children.”
There is so much genuine praise that Tim has to match that energy. He holds out a hand to shake, “It is very nice to see you again, Alfred.”
Alfred shakes his hand firmly with a warm look of his own, “It is wonderful to have you, Master Tim.” Tim wants to say that there is no need to address him so highly, but he can tell that Alfred will uphold his practices. Alfred steps to the side and sweeps his arm, “Please, come in, Master Bruce informed me of the reason for your visit.” Tim follows Alfred, not Bruce, through the halls. “I’ll have us in the kitchen, I find that most of this house feels too formal to some of the children even without the massive dining table, but we can hardly replace it when there are so many people at our meals so regularly.”
Alfred leads them into a large kitchen and gestures for Tim to sit at a tall, comfortable stool at a kitchen island. Bruce sits next to him, while Alfred serves up literal milk and cookies. “Tim, Alfred is the… okay, he’s one of the people I wanted to be here,” Bruce says. Except that doesn’t make any sense, because that hesitation and correction implies that Alfred is the main person that Bruce wanted Tim to see today. So where is the foster family or whomever will be responsible for Tim?
”Tim, my boy,” Alfred says softly, “Please relax, we’re only here to welcome you.”
Tim cocks his head, “Welcome me?”
Bruce gently rests a hand on his shoulder, “Tim, there’s something I wanted to ask you. An offer I want to extend. You know I have a lot of family, and I try to reach out to children whom I know can’t just return to a ‘normal’ life. I know it is not just an option, you can’t flip back to being a student filling out college applications. Dick and I, and everyone to be clear, but… I want to extend an offer,” Bruce repeats. “A place in this family. Would you like to be a Wayne?”
Tim goes completely still. This is what Kon had meant that Tim would stay close even though he wouldn’t be close all the time. This is why Bruce was bringing him into the Batman team, and why Dick and Bruce were being so gentle about it. It is a hell of an offer.
Tim used to wish he was a Wayne, on the occasion he would attend a gala and see how nice Bruce was with his children, letting them leave early if they wanted and eat as much as they needed. He knew they had pets, although there are definitely more now. They were a family, active and together in a way that the Drakes never were.
Bruce wanted to bring him here and let him be safe. To let him recover and still hide from Lex in a place that he might actually be at peace. And Dick would be his big brother, and Damian would be his brother too. This can’t be real. He never had what this family had, and he has never earned a place here. He isn’t sure if this is where he is supposed to be here. How would he end up here, how would this happen? This isn’t how Tim’s life goes. He doesn’t just get things like this handed to him.
His mind is going too fast, his body is shutting down, and his mouth moves without him in his desperation to understand, “Why?”
Bruce’s expression tightens with something Tim doesn’t quite recognize, “Because you’re a good kid, that I care about, and I want you to have a place in this place and in my family. I know you still love Gotham, and you deserve to live in your city, Luthor can’t take this away from you. And Dick and Damian care about you. Cass and Duke and Jason were so excited to meet you, although with varying levels of openness about the subject. Even objectively, this is the best option. We still need to keep you hidden and well secured, this is an expansive estate inhabited by a bunch of heroes and Alfred. You can train and work here, and you’ll never have to pretend that you’ve grown up normal. And that's what I want for you, it’s what we all want for you.”
There is no logic to this situation, Tim does not have enough time to come to any proper conclusions about this. It is a puzzle that he knows will take so much time. He can not figure this out, Tim can not find the correct answer or any semblance of a respectable solution. So he does what everyone has been trying to encourage more of from him, he allows himself to just figure out what he wants to say about the matter, in his heart. “You want me to be here?” He asks softly. “You all want me to… be a part of your family?”
Bruce nods emphatically, “Yes, we do.” The hand on Tim’s shoulder slides down while Bruce’s other hand comes up, until he is holding both of Tim’s hands in his own. “It’s up to you, but believe me, we want you here.”
“Excuse me,” Tim mutters, “I need a moment.” Tim almost dashes away. He has no idea where he’s going in this massive house, even experienced with expansive labs and his own massive home as a child, but he pretty quickly finds a sliding glass door. Perfect.
He takes only a few steps outside, slouching down against the side of the manor, hidden by a large, stunning flower bush. He takes the mechanical deep breaths that he taught himself so long ago, forcing calmness down his throat. This feels so unfamiliar. He isn’t afraid, or angry, but this feeling is wrong. His mind just knows bad.
Deep, growling barks come rushing up to Tim. He barely has enough time to look up before the large dog is leaping into his lap. A friendly German shepherd starts nuzzling his face and neck, thankfully not licking. Tim is surprisingly, well, whelmed. He’d think he would be unable to deal with a large dog, but seeing a normal dog in front of him has perhaps put the past couple of months with Wolf into perspective. Tim might be perfect for dealing with dogs now.
More barking, less grumble-y, calls Tim’s attention as a second dog pads up, even larger than the first. A gray Great Dane strolls up, leaning down to sniff Tim and apparently approving as he settles down next to him. The dog rests his head on Tim’s thigh, the only part of Tim’s lap not full of happy German Shepherd. He scratches at the ginger-brown head shoved in his face to appease the energetic one, and slowly reaches out to make sure the Great Dane is alright with it before he runs a gentle hand down the back of his head and neck. ”Hello, babies,” Tim murmurs, “Who are you? Where did you come from?”
”Ace? Titus?” A gruff voice shouts. Tim startles, but doesn’t have time to react when a large man comes into view. He looks over the scene for only a couple of seconds, and then starts, “Uh, you wouldn’t happen to be Tim?”
Tim nods slowly to avoid smacking who he assumes is Ace, by the way he reacted to the name, “I, uh, just wanted some fresh air?” He knows this man, and he is freaking out, because he has had his suspicions, but that is Jason fucking Todd.
“Sure,” Jason shrugs, “Bruce can be a hell of a lot.” The man just lowers himself to the ground, scratching the Great Dane— Titus a couple of times.
“You’re—um, you’re Jason, right?” Tim inquires. “Jason Todd? I knew you were alive.”
Jason blinks at him, “You did? Actually, don’t answer that. I’ve heard the stories, I think you know everything. Titus and Ace helping you chill, or you want me to grab ‘em?”
”No, no, we have Wolf back at the Cave, I like the dogs,” Tim explains around Ace’s nose poking at his face.
“Who named the dog Wolf?” Jason demands.
”Well, no. He is a Wolf. Super intelligent, fairly large wolf rescued from an experiment by the Brain, and Kon named him Wolf. He’s very friendly,” Tim adds to be safe. “Aren’t you gonna, you know… help me find Bruce again?”
”Was he being an asshole?” Tim frantically shakes his head. “Okay, then you’re just taking in a lot, I know what B was talking to you about. For what it matters, kid, you are welcome here. I had a lot of shit about more young superheroes, hell I still do, but… of all people, you’re definitely falling into the category of ‘we literally can not contain him, we have to train him and supervise him because he’ll do it either way’. This isn’t a trick, it isn’t a plan, or a scheme, we are doing this. We see a kid who’s been hurt and alone his whole life, and if you couldn’t tell this house is built on hero complexes.”
Tim hears the glass door click and then slide open. He waits for Bruce to call him or scold him or something, but nothing comes. Tim glances up again and sees Jason looking him over carefully and then looks up to the side and nods. Now, Bruce walks into view carefully and sits on the grass too. ”I see you’ve met Ace and Titus. I thought you might like them.” Ace springs out of Tim’s lap for all of five seconds to, seemingly, greet Bruce, before settling back in just as quickly. Tim is getting whiplash. “And they like you.”
”They’re very nice,” Tim mumbles, not quite looking at Bruce. “You’ve got more pets, right?”
Bruce hums, “We’ve got Alfred the cat, Batcow, and Goliath.”
”Oh, I heard rumors about a cow, but,” Tim creases his brows. “I’ve never heard of another animal?”
”Goliath is a demon bat, a large demonic creature,” Bruce explains. “We do a lot to keep him under wraps.” Tim lets out a sudden laugh imagining presumably Damian dragging a massive demon creature to the manor and demanding they keep it, and Bruce trying desperately to hide it.
”I need to meet him.” Rubbing his hand over Ace’s head a few more times, Tim comes to a decision. “I want to meet all of them actually, I’ve never seen a cow or a demon bat. I guess I’ll have to stick around for a while.”
He doesn’t look at Jason or Bruce, but no one pushes him or tries to get more information out of him. He hears Jason stand up, though, “You alright if I go get Dick and Damian? We were only really gonna have you meet Alfred today, but those two are waiting with baited breath.”
Tim considers for a bit too long, but eventually settles, “Yes, that’s alright.” He listens to Jason walk away.
“Feeling alright, Tim?” Bruce asks softly when they’re alone with the dogs.
”Little floaty,” Tim admits. “‘Iss just a lot.” He is really numb now, not fully forming the shape of syllables with his mouth anymore.
”I think you’re a little overstimulated,” Bruce continues, speaking smooth and low. “I’ll have us sit for a little, and be quiet. Can you just focus on tactile feelings for me? Focus on the feeling of Ace’s fur.” Tim nods to let Bruce know he heard him and complies. He thinks about the feeling of fur, from both Ace and Titus, puzzling out the differences. He pays attention to the warmth of the sun on his skin, a rare occurrence for Gotham.
He looks up at Bruce after a couple of minutes, and watches his face stretch into an encouraging smile. He reaches out a hand and Tim isn’t entirely sure what he wants, but eventually reaches out his own hand. Bruce holds it gently, rubbing his thumb over Tim’s knuckles. The feeling loosens up the tension in Tim’s body and mind, he lets himself relax in it.
They sit together for a couple more minutes before the door is opening once more.
“Ah! I see, of course, the real reason behind the calming of Tim’s nerves,” Damian declares. “Titus and Ace have taken care of him.”
Tim smiles as he pulls his posture up into something proper, “Yes, they’ve been very good to me, Damian. I can’t wait to meet other Alfred, Batcow, and Goliath.”
Damian nods seriously, “Yes, Goliath will approve of you.”
”So,” Dick cuts in, clearly unable to contain his eagerness, “I hear you’ll be sticking around.”
Tim nods softly, then freezes, “Well, not— not now… right? Not, not right now…”
Bruce shakes his head, “No, Tim, we’ll probably have you move some time next week. We wanted to give you some time to get used to the idea.”
Dick finally moves forward, sitting down on the side of Tim that isn’t taken up by Titus. He puts one arm around Tim’s shoulders to pull the smaller boy into his side. Tim slumps into the older man’s side.
He has seen a lot of Dick, he realizes. He saw the most traumatizing day of his life, when he lost his parents. He watched Dick turn into Robin, eventually forming the Team, and then becoming Nightwing. He watched Dick get tortured, patched up his wounds in those Cadmus cells.
Dick has been training him, refining the physical skills that Tim already has. They’ve spent a lot of time together since Tim was rescued, an unspoken understanding of pain and change. Does this make Dick his older brother? Instead of any of his questions for the variety of Waynes in front of him, Tim just says, “I’m tired.” To prove his own point, his mouth stretches into a yawn.
Dick takes a deep breath that betrays something more intense than Tim thinks the comment warrants, but then suggests, “You wanna take a nap? We could show you your… ah, room.”
His room. Tim’s room. Tim’s room in Wayne Manor. “My room,” Tim repeats. “Here.”
”Yup,” Tim feels Dick nodding.
”Christ, Todd, what did you do to him?” Damian snaps quietly.
”Nothing!” Jason defends, “The kid’s just overwhelmed, he’s processing.” He is right, too, because Tim is not against the idea, it's just that Dick said his room. Tim’s room. “Did Alfred fix up the room yet?” Jason mutters, “‘Cus he’ll kill us if we try to offer the kid a bed only for it to not have sheets on it.”
Tim wouldn’t be mad at Alfred for not having prepared a room, because obviously he wouldn’t have known that Tim would be sleeping in it. But it doesn’t matter, because Bruce replies, “Alfred was prepared for us to move him in at seven am today, just in case the lad was partial to it.” Jason snorts as soon as Bruce finishes.
“I’ll take a nap,” Tim decides. He would like the time to get his thoughts together and take a rest. He really just needs to be chill for at least a little while. He does not need to be away from these people, necessarily, but this is definitely nap-warranting. He lifts himself off of Dick to look at Ace. “I’m gonna need my legs back, buddy.” Ace barks. “I know, I’m sorry, but unfortunately if I am to move, I will need my legs.” Ace barks again, poking Tim’s cheek with his nose. “I know, buddy, I know. It’s tragic, I’m so sorry.”
He slowly nudges Ace off of his lap, luckily the dog does listen once Tim starts moving. But even with the entire group of people, Ace and Titus both happily prance inside right beside him. He thinks he might just be able to stomach missing Wolf, because at least he won’t be lonely. There’ll still be furry companions to keep him company.
They make it back to the kitchen, where Alfred waits dutifully. He smiles when they enter. “It’s good to see you on your feet, Master Tim.”
Tim frowns at the address, “Why are we back to Master Tim? You just called me Tim earlier.”
”What?” Several people exclaim at once.
Alfred shakes his head fondly, “I simply thought that calling you by your name would help ground you, Master Tim. I have no intention of continually addressing you improperly.” Tim continues frowning, but does not continue arguing. Alfred has his way of doing his job, and Tim is not going to take issue with it.
Still appearing baffled, Dick starts guiding Tim out of the kitchen again, “Uh, well Alfred, we’re gonna show Tim his room. He’s going to take a nap for a bit, I think we wiped him out.”
”Very good, Master Dick,” Alfred nods. “I’ll ask that the entire family does not accompany Master Tim. It might be counter intuitive to calming him down, having a parade through the halls.” Several people grumble, but Dick grins at them. He already had a hand on Tim’s wrist, so he continues guiding him out.
They are followed only by Ace and Titus. Ace bounds up each flight of stairs, wagging his tail wildly as he waits impatiently at each landing. Titus moves gracefully, padding up each step and keeping pace with Tim. He holds his head high and meanders every so often to sniff something. Tim finds himself utterly enthralled by the specific differences between their behavior.
Dick leads him to the third floor, down a hallway with a row of widely separated doors. “This is where everyone’s bedrooms are, we're going to have you in here!” Dick stops a few doors down. “Everyone’s got a room up here, we’ve got B, Jason, me, Damian, Cass, Duke, and Stephanie has one back down there for whenever she stays over. You’re gonna love Duke and Cass, actually, but Duke’s on patrol right now. The original plan was to not overwhelm you and just a few too many of us came out of the woodwork.”
Dick swings the door open, revealing a massive room. It’s bigger than any Tim has ever seen. The door opens right on one side of the room, opening up to the left. Against that far wall on their left, which seems miles away, a large, four poster bed is in the middle of the wall. There is nothing else in the room. The room is massive and hollow. “To be clear,” Dick continues, “you get to have stuff, don’t worry. But we want to let you choose your own stuff. There’s a walk in closet over there,” he gestures to the far corner. Half hidden behind the bed from their angle, the door is in one back corner and is white against the subtle red walls. “And that’s the bathroom,” Dick points to the other door in the other back corner, along the wall that reaches all the way to the door.
Tim stares for a long moment. “I will sleep on that.” It isn’t a great way to phrase his thoughts, but the bed is huge and the sheets look soft and the pillows just look perfect. He will go to it right now. And he does, crossing the room in confident strides to bodily throw himself onto the bed. “Thanks, Dick. Bye.”
Dick snickers as Tim reaches back, not pulling his head up from the pillows, and tugs off his shoes, throwing them to the floor. He hears Dick’s footsteps, he realizes now that all of the Bats have probably been letting Tim hear them the whole time, and the sound of the door closing.
Tim figures there is one thing left he should do. He tugs his phone out of his pocket and shifts his head a sliver to the side. He dials Kon while he can still keep his eyes open. “Tim?” Kon answers immediately. “How’d it go?”
“Nice,” Tim replies. “Went pretty good. I’m gonna take a nap now though. This bed is so comfortable.”
Kon’s laugh is clear and bright, and it makes Tim’s mind fuzzy. “It went well? That’s good.”
”Met Ace, and Titus,” Tim’s sleep deprived brain decides is important to share, “They should meet Wolf. Wolf and Ace would be best friends.”
Kon is laughing again, “I’m sure that that can be arranged. You really are tired, huh?”
”I barely slept last night, I was nervous and stuff,” Tim informs, even though he is pretty sure his friend already knows that. “We should have a sleepover. Never had one before. This bed is big enough for, like, four people.”
This time, Kon’s voice isn’t amused, but fond and soft, “You’re the boss, Tim. I’ll add it to the bucket list.”
”Does that list actually exist?” Tim wonders.
”Nah,” Kon admits, “But it’s, like, a mental graphic organizer. I think I’ve got everything down.”
“It’s so big,” Tim adds. “Y’all are gonna have to help me decorate.”
”I’m sure we can figure that out somehow,” Kon teases. “Bart might be a little hard to convince, but I suppose~” That gets a giggle out of Tim, just from the tone with which Kon ends.
“You have to test the water for me,” Tim realizes suddenly. “Cassie and Bart have gotten me way too into K-pop, and if one of them actually buys me an album, I am not sure I’ll be able to resist putting up the poster. I need to know who will and won’t be teasing-and-or-racist about it.
“Well,” Kon starts, “Cass is Asian, Dick’s Romani, Duke’s black, Damian’s Middle Eastern, I think. I don’t think that second thing is gonna be a problem. That being said, you should definitely worry about the teasing thing. That being said, I don’t think Dick gets to mock anyone’s music taste, or anyone who knows Bruce, from what I hear. So… you’re right, I’m going to have to test the waters.”
Tim laughs again, almost choking. “Oh my god,” he mutters, “I want to sleep, I’m going to sleep.”
”Fine,” Kon groans, “Abandon me to go to sleep. I get it. Bye, Tim.” He does Tim the service of being the one to hang up, so that Tim can just drop his head into the pillow and drift off, still smiling.